Judge Jacklyn Connly made her ruling following a dangerousness hearing to determine whether or not there are any conditions under which the suspects -- Lance M. Gouvan, 34, and Megan R. Bonny, 26 -- can be released that will guarantee the public's safety.

In Gouvan's case, Connly ruled there were not. Prosecutor Linda Pisano told the judge that Gouvan has a lengthy criminal record that includes drug and larceny convictions. Five different women have also sought restraining orders against Gouvan, Pisano said.

The standard of proof in a dangerousness hearing is lower than at a trial.

Both Gouvan and Bonny were shackled during the hearing. At one point, Connly granted a recess when Gouvan slumped forward in apparent distress.

Gouvan and Bonny are charged with attempted murder, kidnapping a child, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault and battery. The two had been living in an area behind Pomeroy Terrace where the homeless pitch tents in warmer weather.

According to testimony at the hearing, the girl was a participant in a residential program for youth run by the Cutchins Program on Pomeroy Terrace. She had gone to a field behind 78 Pomeroy Terrace to jump rope after having discipline problems, according to Adam R. Hargraves, who described himself as part of the "time-out" staff at Cutchins.

Hargraves said he came out to check on the girl and saw two people he identified as Gouvan and Bonny walking away across the field. He heard the girl whimpering and found her with a rope tied around her neck, he said.

Northampton police officer Brent Dzialo, who responded to a call from that address, said the girl told him Gouvan had shouted obscenities at her through an orange traffic cone in the field. Then, at Bonny's suggestion, Gouvan allegedly grabbed the girl by the hair, pulled her 15-20 feet and tied one end of the rope around her neck and the other end to a tree, she told Dzialo.

However, there was conflicting testimony about how tightly the girl was tied and whether or not the rope was fixed to the tree. She also told investigators that Gouvan and Bonny had tongue-piercings, but police found none on the suspects. Both Gouvan and Bonny deny they assaulted the girl.

Jonah Goldsmith, who represents Gouvan, told Connly, "This case really hinges on the word of one troubled young girl."

Pisano said there is no evidence the girl is troubled.

“This is just an act of random violence,” she said.

Defense attorney John Drake, who represents Bonny, said his client had been living with a boyfriend on Union Street before staying with Gouvan in his tent. She was also working full time at Acme Surplus in Thornes Marketplace. Thornes has trespassed her, however, and she cannot return to work, he said.

Bonny's parents were present at the hearing and are willing to take her in while she awaits trial, Drake said. The couple lives in Agawam and Bonny's father is a minister with the Church of Christ in West Springfield, according to Drake.

If Bonny makes bail, she must stay in her parents' home under electronic monitoring.